Big, Small, Short and Long: A Brief History of Fashionable Silhouettes

'Fashion consists only in extremes [...] frivolity and death.' 'Does fashion die [...] because it can no longer keep up the tempo?' Walter Benjamin - The Arcades Project The fashion system relies on a never-ending cycle of newness, spectacle, emulation and death. This is how fashion works - without the invention of new, or the recycling …

Time for Tea: Afternoon Dresses from 1900-15

2009.300.3277. House of Worth Tea Gown. c1910. Silk, rhinestones and metal. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Edwardian era began with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. With the death of the longest reigning monarch at the time, Britain was at first plunged into full mourning dress. However, after the black clothes …

A Biography of Lucile: London, Lace, and Lingerie

During the Belle Epoque era, a young, feisty entrepreneur emerged. Her name was Lucile; and her mission was to create couture for a new kind of a woman. A British designer, Lucile was arguably the first female to receive international recognition for her sartorial creations. C.I.47.57.1. Lucile dance dress. c1914. Silk, fur and metallic thread. …